Solaris

Full name	Solaris
Class	Clergy, Mage
Nationality	Karse
Series	The Mage Storms
First appearance	Storm Warning

Solaris is the current Son of the Sun, representative of the Sun God Vkandis and thus the de facto ruler of Karse. She is accompanied by a Firecat, Hansa, a counselor from Vkandis. Unlike some of her fellow Sunpriests, she is not corrupt and tries her best to follow the ways of Vkandis, not using magic to trick the rest of Karse into believing that Vkandis has spoken.

She is described as having a very commanding, intimidating presence, one that "entirely eclipsed her appearance". Her eyes are "a golden-brown subject to changing as her mood changed, and her hair a darker golden-brown." Karal once wished to never have her full attention on him, finding it overwhelming.

Early Life

As an infant, Solaris was found abandoned and brought to the kindly black-robe Hierophant Virtulias, who raised her as his youngest novice. As a child, she accompanied him to Sunhame when they were going to elect the next Son of the Sun. As a young local sun-priestess, Solaris was recruited to replace a priest-mage in an upcoming battle against Hardorn. She argued frequently with the corrupt black-robed priest-mage leading the group. The final straw was when he insisted that for the post-battle Victory Sacrifice, all of the soldiers too wounded to travel or unlikely to survive would be put in the fires alive. Solaris knelt to give water to a severely wounded soldier, and to everyone's shock, he was healed by her touch. Surprised, she went on to the next wounded soldier, and the next, and the next ... and saved each of them from the flames. All of the soldiers present recognized that it was a miracle from Vkandis.

Son of the Sun

Solaris and Hansa

Solaris was chosen to become the Son of the Sun by Vkandis himself during a miracle in which a statue of the Sun God came to life and placed the crown upon her head. She then proceeded to turn the priesthood on its head. She got rid of many of the practices the priests had established that went against the will of Vkandis, including the belief that all magic was evil witchcraft, as well as the burning of "witches." She assigned several trusted priests, including Ulrich and Karal, to search through old documents of the priesthood and rediscover many of the old practices of the priesthood before the corruption. She also purged the priesthood of all corrupt priests.

Despite the fact that much of what she was doing was for the good of Karse, she was still contested. There had never been a female Son of the Sun before and on top of that, her actions ruined the very comfortable lives some of the priests enjoyed. However, the presence of a Firecat (Hansa), a sign of Vkandis' favor, and her own unstoppable will and magnetism prevented her opposition from gaining much ground.

During the war with Hardorn, Solaris isolated herself so she could pray to Vkandis for guidance. When she returned, her decision shocked and outraged many. She formed an alliance with Valdemar, former enemy of Karse and considered by many to be demon summoners. To cement the treaty and keep the peace, she accepted Talia, Queen's Own Herald of Valdemar, as a Sunpriest. She then sent two of her own Sunpriests, Ulrich and Karal, to Valdemar to establish the base of the treaty and decide on action with Hardorn. She herself appeared in Valdemar several times, most notably after the death of Ulrich.

After Karal privately broached the subject of peace with Grand Duke Tremane, currently the most capable leader in Hardorn, Solaris was furious with his unauthorized approach to the man who had ordered Ulrich's assassination. She had Hansa jump her to Tremane's office, and bespelled him to only speak the truth.

At the height of the Mage Storms, Vkandis ordered Solaris to visit the newly-crowned Tremane in Hardorn. In the "second miracle" of her reign, the statue of Vkandis sat on the throne, indicating that he would protect it from any attempt to overthrow her rule during her absence. Though she desperately hated Tremane for the role he played in Ulrich's death, Solaris eventually forgave him. While in Hardorn, she helped Elspeth, Darkwind and the others find a way to shield nodes, keeping them from going rogue during the Final Storm. She took this knowledge back to Karse, shielding every node in the realm.

In the series

Solaris appears in the following works in chronological order:

• "A Brand from the Burning" by Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox in No True Way, Valdemar Anthology, volume 8
• "Vkandis' Own" by Ben Ohlander in Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar, Valdemar Anthology, volume 1
• "Sun in Glory" by Mercedes Lackey in Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar, Valdemar Anthology, volume 2
• Storm Warning, Mage Storms, volume 1
• Storm Rising, Mage Storms, volume 2
• Storm Breaking, Mage Storms, volume 3